Escape from the Tentacle Monster
by Ayla Pascal
Summary: Harry never expected the blue box to be a spaceship. He never expected to end up on another planet. And he certainly never expected the experience to bring him closer to Snape. Snape/Harry


Author Notes: This was originally written for the 2009 Snarry Games. Thank you to aigooism for the beta! The original version was NC-17 but I've edited one of the scenes to bring it in line with rules on this site.

-***-

The blue box had been sitting there for years.

There were some divisions within the Department of Mysteries who argued that it was a Muggle decoration. Others pointed to the lettering "Police Box" and argued that Muggle policemen must have sat in there. Still others maintained that it must have been magical because no charm, spell or incantation could open it.

But nobody actually knew what it contained. All they knew was that one day, it had suddenly appeared in the middle of the main building of the Ministry. This, in and of itself, wasn't too curious. After all, things were appearing and disappearing out of the Ministry all the time. However, a young man wearing Muggle clothing had jumped out of the blue box, shouted out a brief greeting, before dashing off to goodness knows where.

Many Ministry officials had been miffed at that behaviour.

"It shows the irresponsibility of Muggles," the Undersecretary to the Minister had said with a sniff. "Always in a rush to get somewhere."

There had been a brief argument as to whether it ought to go into the Department of Mysteries at all.

"There is nothing particularly mysterious about it," many people pointed out.

But nobody else wanted it. So it ended up in the Department of Mysteries, stuck in a reasonably large broom cupboard for over ten years. It had been there for so long that it was tradition to parade first year Department interns in front of the box. It was pointed out as a device that had mysterious properties, which nobody could figure out. Interns were promised a pay rise if they could figure out the mysteries of the box.

But none could.

-***-

Robert Reeding had been showing interns around the Department of Mysteries for over five years now. With a sigh, he ran his fingers through his increasingly receding hair and wished that this year's intake would be less like tourists. For Merlin's sake, some of them gasped and pointed at the rooms like they were still in their first year at Hogwarts.

He took out the last and smallest key out of his large keychain. Sticking it in the lock, he turned it. Behind him, Robert could hear one of the interns whisper, "What's in there? Brooms?"

He whirled around and fixed the intern with one of his most terrifying glares. The intern looked mildly concerned. Robert sighed. "In here, is one of the most deepest and mysterious devices in the entire department. Nobody had been able to figure out what this box does. Nobody!"

Some of the interns were beginning to look interested. Robert turned around, opened the door with a swoosh and stared.

Behind him, he could hear gasps. Somebody dropped a pen.

Inside the broom cupboard, there was a man. The man was dressed in a blue suit, with dark tortoiseshell rectangular rimmed glasses. He was obviously a Muggle, but here he was in one of the most top secret Ministry buildings.

The man looked up from where he was in the process of opening up the blue police box. "Hullo there!" he said cheerfully. "I'm the Doctor."

-***-

"He's barking mad," West told Harry firmly. "I'll be surprised if you manage to get a clear sentence out of him."

Harry pursed his lips. He never liked his supervisor Nathan West much. He was a rather pompous and self-assured man. During Harry's first day on the job, everybody else had gone out of their way to make him feel welcome. Harry knew it was partially because who he was, but he appreciated it anyway. West, however, had simply looked him up and down and informed Harry that his fame was not going to smooth his ride while working under Nathan West.

Since then, Harry had managed to surprise West with his tenacity, however, he still suspected that West was simply looking for a reason to shunt Harry sideways into another department.

"I'll try anyway," Harry said.

West shrugged. "Be my guest." He waved his wand and the prisoner's cell door swung open.

Harry blinked. He could hear sounds from within the cell. In fact, the man seemed to be singing God Save the Queen to himself.

"He's bonkers," West said.

Harry looked down to make sure his wand was firmly holstered, took a deep breath and stepped through the doorway. As his eyes adjusted to the dimmer light, he noticed that the prisoner was sitting in one of the hard wooden chairs as if it was as comfortable as his own armchair at home. The prisoner had his feet up on the table and Harry couldn't help noticing the Muggle style of clothing and footwear.

"Ah ha!" The prisoner jumped to his feet and dashed over to Harry.

Harry flinched and his hand immediately shot to his wand. Behind him, he could hear West chuckle slightly as he shut the door. "Please step back, sir," Harry said quietly.

"Bit of a twitchy fellow, aren't you?"

Harry glared at the man. He had been told over the past few years that he could be quite intimidating when he wanted to be, but there was no effect. "What's your name?"

The man smiled beatifically. "I'm the Doctor."

"That's a title, not a name," Harry snapped.

"Isn't that funny? That's exactly what the other fellow said. I didn't like him much. Never trust a guy wearing robes, that's what one of my friends used to say."

Harry wasn't sure he liked being compared to West. He also felt a bit uncomfortable at the reference to his lack of robes. He had never gotten into the habit of robe wearing and even now, after over five years at the Department of Mysteries, he was still wearing Muggle-style slacks and a shirt. "Fine," Harry said shortly, "we'll put down the Doctor as your name then."

"See?" the Doctor said. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Harry ignored the rhetorical question. "Now, Doctor," he said, as he seated himself down on one of the chairs, trying not to wince at its hardness, "would you care to tell me what exactly you were doing in one of the Ministry's top secret facilities?"

"Trying to get to my TARDIS, of course."

Harry felt almost as though this Doctor person was speaking a completely different language. The words came out in English, but somehow, they didn't quite make sense. "Your what?"

"My TARDIS. Stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space. It's my spaceship."

"You were standing next to a blue Muggle-style Police Box when we found you."

"Exactly!"

Harry breathed out slowly and resisted the urge to bang his head against the wall. "You're trying to tell me that Police Box is your spaceship?"

The Doctor beamed at him. "You're far smarter than the other fellow, you know. I like you. Now I could show you my TARDIS, if you'd like."

-***-

Severus Snape had spent the past five years working for the Ministry, more specifically the Department of Mysteries who were sorely in need of a qualified Potions Master. He had known that Harry Potter was working for the same department. In fact, they had passed by one another several times and exchanged cordial greetings. However, Snape was thankful to say that they had yet to have an actual conversation since the days where they were both at Hogwarts.

He was hurrying along the corridors, making the occasional notation upon his notebook when out of nowhere, two men came barrelling past. "Excuse me," Snape said stiffly, brushing off his robes. He then noticed that one of the men was Potter. "Good day, Potter." Snape was about to turn on his heel and leave, when Potter grabbed his arm.

"Wait."

Snape stared at Potter in surprise. What could be so urgent?

"Do you have a few minutes?"

"I may," Snape said guardedly.

"I would like you to accompany me to verify this prisoner's story," Potter indicated the man standing beside him. For the first time, Snape realised that Potter had his wand out and had it surreptitiously trained on the other man. "He was found trespassing on Ministry property."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "How is this relevant to me?"

Potter looked rather abashed. "It isn't, exactly, but protocol states that two department employees ought to verify stories, and I ..."

"They all think I'm mad," the man with Potter said cheerfully. "But they haven't seen my spaceship yet."

Snape stared. He was beginning to think that Potter was a bit mad. "This is a complete waste of my time," he said flatly, turning to leave. "This is obviously a lunatic, possibly an escapee from St Mungo's."

"I hear you're looking for some extra lab space."

Snape turned back around, slowly, staring at Potter.

"I can help you with that."

-***-

Harry wasn't sure why he had convinced Snape to come along. Only that, there was something remarkably convincing about the Doctor and he had this feeling that, maybe, just maybe the man might be telling the truth. In that case, it would help immensely to have a man like Severus Snape confirm the story. Somehow, the idea of a Muggle police box being a spaceship was a bit too fantastical an idea even for somebody like Harry Potter to put forth.

Harry couldn't help noticing that the Doctor was almost bouncing down the corridor. Other Ministry employees were giving him a wide berth as they passed. Harry noticed several of them looking quizzically at him and Snape.

Snape simply ignored the stares and after a brief moment of hesitation, Harry decided to do the same.

They reached the broom closet and the Doctor pulled out a key from his breast pocket. He opened the broom closet door with a flourish. "This is my TARDIS!" he exclaimed.

Harry stared at the blue box. It didn't look any more like a spaceship than it did the first time he saw it. He stepped forward and knocked on the box. It sounded hollow. "It's made of wood," Harry said flatly.

"I'm looking forward to my new lab space," Snape said, a note of smugness in his voice.

Harry looked over at the Doctor, not sure what he was expecting to see. The Doctor was beaming. "Isn't she a beauty?"

Harry wasn't sure how to respond. He watched as the Doctor stepped forward and inserted his key into the keyhole. He turned it and opened the door.

Turning around, the Doctor said, "Follow me!"

-***-

Harry stared. He blinked twice and then stared again. He was considering lifting his hands up to rub his eyes, but decided at the last second that was probably not the best idea. Somehow, the inside of this TARDIS was bigger than the outside. From the outside dimensions, Harry would have suspected that the inside would be only a little bigger than your average loo. However, the inside seemed huge. He could see corridors branching off the main room, twisting and winding away into the distance.

"Isn't she a beauty?" the Doctor said cheerfully.

Harry wasn't sure what to say. He shouldn't have been so surprised, but he was. He had expected that this man was merely a Muggle who had somehow managed to get inside the Department of Mysteries. Obviously, he had been wrong.

"I presume you used an Extension Charm?" Snape commented, not sounding surprised at all as he stepped past Harry. Behind them, the door swung shut.

The Doctor looked surprised. "An Extension Charm? Certainly not. The TARDIS is an excellent example of Time Lord technology! Pure science! She can transport her occupants anywhere through time and space." He hesitated. "Well, she doesn't do too well with short distances, but I can take you for a short spin to Alpha Centauri!"

Harry blinked but he noticed that Snape looked quite intrigued. "Time travel?" Snape said. "Are there any limits to what era you can journey to?"

The Doctor smiled. "No limits at all! She's taken me to both the beginning and end of the universe. The beginning is far prettier though. I could take both of you to anywhere, anytime, and have you back before anybody even noticed. Not Pompeii though, been there before on Volcano Day. Wasn't terribly fun. But I can take you anywhere else!"

Harry cleared his throat and was rather alarmed at the intrigued gleam in Snape's eyes. "That sounds exciting, however..."

"Excellent!" The Doctor rubbed his hands together and began to – or so it seemed to Harry – randomly hit instruments on the round console in the centre of the room that was giving out a blue light. There was a thrumming noise in the air and Harry could feel his very molecules vibrate.

"Wait!" he tried to say, but the Doctor either didn't hear or ignored him. Harry could see Snape peering at what the Doctor was doing with interest. As far as Harry could tell, it seemed that the Doctor had gone crazy.

Harry was trying to remember what his training was on dealing with crazy people. He suspected that he was supposed to go and slap the Doctor across the face, but that didn't seem like the best plan. The entire floor beneath his feet vibrated and Harry felt himself thrown against a piece of padding that had been carelessly bound around one of the railings.

Harry put his hand out to steady himself on the railing as the humming sound in the air grew louder. He felt like he was about to trip over and go sprawling out onto his face at any second.

He looked over at Snape who was clutching at the railing, his knuckles white. He then looked over at the Doctor who was laughing.

And then, suddenly, it stopped.

The Doctor ran over to the door of the TARDIS and flung it open. Immediately, a cold breeze blew into the room. From where Harry was standing, he could see snow outside. Lots and lots of very, very cold snow. Beside him, Snape drew his cloak around himself firmly. Harry couldn't help shivering.

"There you go!" the Doctor exclaimed happily. "Isn't it beautiful? One minute, you're in England with crumpets and afternoon tea. With jobs and promotions. With Christmas dinner and birthday presents and children and all those tiny little mundane things. And then, you're here, on the Elysian Snowfields of Theta. Isn't it just magnificent?"

Snape glared. "Fairly similar to Apparating, isn't it?"

A slightly miffed expression passed over the Doctor's face before he bounced on his toes and smiled cheerfully again. "This place is gorgeous during the summer," he said. "All daisies and primroses and these flowers that are a cross between daffodils and roses. It's brilliant!"

"Quite cold right now though," Harry managed to get out through chattering teeth.

"Look!" the Doctor said, ignoring Harry's words and pointing out at a speck in the distance that seemed to be coming closer. "Those are traders from the planet Gamma. They make the best hot chocolate in this arm of the galaxy. It'll warm you two up in no time. Beautiful with marshmallows. I've got a couple in the TARDIS storerooms. I'm just going to pop out and get us some. I'll be right back. Won't be ten minutes!"

And then, before either of them could say anything, the Doctor was running out of the door.

"Well," Snape said, after a brief pause, his voice almost as frosty as the weather. "I believe we should close the door."

-***-

Five hours later, Harry was beginning to become worried. "Do you think anything happened to him?" he asked.

Snape raised an eyebrow at him. "Unless I have recently developed clairvoyant skills, and by recently, I mean within the past ten minutes, my answer is still: I don't know."

Harry fingered his wand. He didn't think anything would have happened to the Doctor. After all, the man had taken them halfway across the galaxy without blinking an eyelash. He seemed like he knew exactly what he was doing. "We should go out to see if he's hurt."

"I believe, Mr Potter, that you still have that Saviour Complex," Snape said dryly. "I believe that this Doctor fellow is capable of looking after himself. After all, he was the one who unceremoniously brought us here and undoubtedly he is capable of ensuring his own safety."

Harry blinked. If he wasn't freezing and rather hungry, and thus, most likely incapable of reading emotions, he could have sworn that Snape had been joking. He had heard from various people over the years that Snape had mellowed out somewhat from his years at Hogwarts; however, he had never believed it. Harry had long since forgiven Snape for the actions the other man had to take during the war. But he couldn't seem to get over the fact that, to him, Snape was still the professor who had terrorized him during Potions all those years ago.

Except, now, there seemed to be no malice in Snape's expression as he looked at Harry. True, it wasn't particularly friendly, but it wasn't filled with hatred either. Harry couldn't help noticing that Snape seemed to have washed his hair as well. It still looked slightly oily, but nowhere near as bad as it had seemed to him years ago when he was at Hogwarts.

In fact, Harry realised that Snape was quite an attractive man. This realisation surprised him. Harry had thought that way about blokes ever since Ginny had caught him wanking off to a picture of her brother Bill. He still remembered her hurt expression and the finality of the sound of the door slamming as she stormed out.

Since then, he hadn't even tried to think of men that way. He had gone out on a few dates with women except none of them had gone well enough for even a second date.

Harry jumped slightly when he realised that he was staring at Snape who was looking at him with a quizzical expression. "If he doesn't come back in two hours," Harry said decisively, "I'm going after him."

-***-

Two and a half hours later, they stood in a large room within the TARDIS that seemed to be filled with nothing except coats. There were thin cotton coats, large fur coats, and everything in between. It all smelt slightly musty. Harry walked down the aisles until he saw a coat that seemed like it would fit him. He pulled it off its hanger and put it on. It was slightly big; however, it was toasty warm.

"You'd better pick one as well," he told Snape.

Snape stared at him. "I believe I will be warm enough in my cloak." As if to prove his point, he wrapped the cloak around his shoulders and stalked off.

Harry waited.

Five minutes later, Snape came back, his sallow cheeks slightly flushed from cold. "I believe I shall avail myself of one of these choices."

Harry suppressed a grin that threatened to take over his face. "If you wish."

-***-

Harry couldn't help thinking that it was bloody freezing outside even with his fur coat on. He also felt quite ridiculous being wrapped up in the skin of a long-dead animal. In fact, given this Doctor, he wasn't even sure that this animal was from Earth to begin with. He looked up at Snape and was amused to notice that the other man looked equally silly in his own fur coat. Especially since the only fur that seemed to fit Snape was in a delicate shade of pink.

"I think he went that way," Harry said, pointing out into the distance.

Snape nodded and knelt down to examine the snow. "We can follow his tracks," he said. "I can just make them out." He started walking off.

Harry followed him. He couldn't see anything in the snow, but he supposed he should trust Snape. After all, the man didn't need to have come with him to find the Doctor. In fact, Snape could have just sat in the reasonably warm TARDIS and waited. Harry frowned. "Have you tried to Apparate back home yet?" he asked suddenly.

Snape nodded curtly. "It was the first thing I tried. I believe we may be too far away from Earth." He raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you haven't tried?"

Harry could feel his cheeks flush. "I was waiting for the Doctor," he said defensively. "We couldn't just abandon him here. He could be in danger!"

"So you believe that the best method to deal with danger would be to walk right into it?" Snape asked.

Harry wasn't sure how to reply.

"This Doctor brought us here, to this strange, unknown planet that is quite possibly billions of kilometres away from Earth. All we have are our wands. I for one am unsure whether our spells would be effective on aliens."

Harry bit his lip. He had to admit that Snape made sense. "It doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to save him," he said stubbornly.

Snape sighed and they walked on in silence.

-***-

Ten minutes later, they came across a patch of scuffled snow. There were several dropped belongings here almost as though a group of people had been whisked away in a hurry by something. There were drag marks away from the scuffled snow. It seemed as though something very large had dragged away these people.

Snape bent over and picked up something shiny and silver off the snow. "We know the Doctor was here," he said and handed it to Harry.

Harry shivered slightly from where Snape's hand had brushed his own. He looked at the object Snape had handed him. It was the Doctor's key to the TARDIS. "We'll find him," he said, trying to sound confident.

Snape snorted slightly. Harry could tell that Snape could see right through his show of bravado. "At least the tracks are easier to follow now," Snape commented.

-***-

The tracks led them to what seemed like a giant cave. Its yawning mouth opened black and seemingly endless before them.

"Well then," Snape said, "after you, Potter."

Harry glared at him but stepped forward. After a brief hesitation, Snape walked into the cave after him. Inside, the air was surprisingly warm and stiflingly humid. Harry found it difficult to breathe and only after a few steps, he found himself removing his coat. Snape did the same and they stashed their coats in a small alcove.

They had walked a few more metres, when Harry realised that he could still see even without the help of a _Lumos_. "There's a light in front of us," he whispered.

They were in what seemed like a long dark tunnel and in front of them, at the end of the tunnel, there seemed to be a reddish glow. Harry shuddered. It reminded him of the picture books he saw when he was a child that showed the gates of hell. That was where he felt like they were now walking.

As they neared the red glow, Harry began to hear sounds up ahead. They sounded like cries of despair.

Just before they left the dark tunnel, Snape pulled Harry aside behind a rock. From there, they had a good view of a large cave that seemed to be lit from within by a source of red light. At the centre of the cave there was a terrifying creature.

-***-

"FEED ME."

Harry stared from where he and Snape were hidden behind a giant rock.

"FEED ME."

The booming voice was coming from a giant, pulsating thing. To Harry, it looked remarkably like a giant squid. A giant alien squid. A giant alien squid that was glowing a bright sickly green.

"Perhaps," Snape said softly behind him, "this was not the best plan."

Privately, Harry had to agree. He looked around the room and noticed cages lining the walls. "Look up," he whispered. "The Doctor's probably in one of those cages."

"I believe you're right," Snape said dryly.

"FEED ME."

One of the cages began to lower. Inside, there was a man, dressed in tattered clothes, who was sobbing. "D-don't..." he gasped. "Don't do it. P-please! I beg you!"

Harry turned to Snape and frowned. "What do you think..." he began when Snape pressed a long finger to his lips.

"Be quiet," Snape hissed.

The cage lowered until it was just in front of the giant tentacle monster. Harry almost expected one of the tentacles to shoot out, open the cage and wrap itself around the man. Instead, it seemed as though the monster breathed in deeply. The man inside the cage shuddered and fell to the floor.

Harry turned his head aside. He didn't know what was going on, except he didn't want to watch. When he turned his head back, the man was still in his kneeling position in the cage except he seemed to have a blank look on his face. Harry frowned. It was almost as though the man was in a trance. He no longer looked scared or frightened. Instead, he looked as though he had been hypnotised.

Harry looked over to Snape, but to his shock, Snape wasn't there. Harry could feel his heart hammering in his chest as he shifted his position to scan the cave for Snape. He didn't think the other man would have just left him here, but he wasn't completely positive.

Just then, Harry found a large calloused hand clamped over his mouth and he was dragged away into the shadows.

-***-

Harry struggled until he heard a harsh whisper in his ear, "Stop it, Potter."

It was Snape!

Harry stopped trying to scream and the hand was removed from his mouth. He spun around to see Snape standing there with a finger over his mouth. Behind him, stood the Doctor who was beckoning urgently.

Snape turned around and began to silently follow the Doctor. After a second, Harry gathered his wits together and did the same.

They crept along a long low tunnel that twisted and turned. Harry found himself uncomfortably bent over, and Snape was almost crawling along. It was becoming almost unbearable when the tunnel suddenly widened and Harry found himself stumbling into a long, low dimly lit cave. There were several people there who were eating and drinking. They stopped abruptly as soon as they saw Harry and Snape.

Harry stood up and brushed down his clothes, noticing that Snape was doing the same.

"These are the rebels," the Doctor said quietly. "The only ones left out of a thriving civilisation that once inhabited this planet."

"What the hell was that thing out there?" Harry burst out.

The Doctor smiled grimly. "That was the Monster."

"What did it do to that man?"

Snape cleared his throat. Harry stared at him. "I believe," Snape said, "that I may have some idea. It ... removed the man's emotions."

"More than that," the Doctor said harshly. "Emotions, thoughts, feelings, everything that makes us sentient. It will steal everything that makes you human." A brief look of pain passed over his face.

"Everything that makes _us_ human?" Snape pointed out. "What about you?"

Harry frowned. It almost sounded as though... it was almost as if the Doctor was distinguishing himself from humans. It was as if...

"I'm not human," the Doctor said. "That was why it didn't affect me as much. It was unable to ... turn me completely."

-***-

Harry sat on the freezing cold ground of the cave and wished he hadn't left the coat behind in the other passageway. He nibbled on a biscuit that one of the other people had brought him, but he had lost his appetite. Apparently the giant alien squid – the Monster, as these people called it – lived by sucking the life force from people. It turned humans into shells of their former selves. Devoid of all humanity.

"You can't kill them," one of the women said tiredly. "We've tried. At first, they're simply quiet, but then they turn into vicious ... creatures. Almost as though the Monster has transferred a bit of itself onto them."

"Can't you escape?" Harry asked.

The woman stared at him, her eyes dull. "Where to? Our homes are gone. The Monster rules this planet now. He feeds off us." She twitched slightly.

"It feeds off emotions," the Doctor said flatly. There was something about him that scared Harry. The manic man who had run along the Ministry corridors seemed to be gone. This new Doctor was focused, determined, but he seemed to have lost his spark. "Emotions like hate and fear strengthen it."

A thought suddenly occurred to Harry. "We can escape now," he snapped. "Doctor, your TARDIS? It can carry all of us, can't it?"

The Doctor stared at him and Harry was relieved to notice a brief spark of the Doctor's old self in his eyes. "It certainly can."

"Then let's get off this planet." Harry jumped to his feet and after a second, the Doctor jumped up after him. Snape nodded from where he was standing in the corner of the cave.

"Allons-y!" the Doctor said, gesturing for everybody to follow.

-***-

They hurried along the dark passageway one more time. The Doctor was leading. He was running along. Harry was having trouble keeping up. The Doctor turned his head. "Hurry," he gasped. "It's coming."

Harry could see the light of the outside ahead. He could almost smell the snow and freedom. He could hear Snape breathing heavily beside him and the steps of the other people behind him. They were almost there, when suddenly, Harry found himself slowing down.

He wasn't sure why but he suddenly found it difficult to move his limbs. It was as though he was in a dream and he was terrified but somehow, he couldn't move. His arms felt like they were stuck in thick honey and his legs felt like somebody had frozen them into place. In front of him, the Doctor had stopped and was turning around, a look of absolute terror on his face.

Slowly, Harry turned around.

Behind their small group, the Monster lit up the tunnel with its sickly glow.

Harry could find himself becoming more and more terrified. Fear was consuming him, growing from a small tendril in his stomach to a overwhelming fear that froze him on the spot and made him want to whimper and beg for his mother. He tried to step backwards, but ended up stumbling sideways into Snape. He could feel the other man shudder.

"I-it feeds off f-fear," Snape said haltingly into his ear.

Harry nodded. He remembered the Doctor saying that. He looked over at the Doctor who had a look of intense concentration on his face. It was obvious that the Doctor was struggling internally with the same thing they were. He stared at the other people who had been with the Doctor and realised, with horror, their faces were slowly easing into expressions of blankness.

"F-feeds on f-fear," Snape said again.

Harry felt Snape's hand grab his arm and pulled him in so that Harry found himself crushed up against Snape's chest. Snape's hand tightened on his arm. "W-what?" Harry stammered. He could feel his heart pounding but he wasn't sure whether it was with terror or something else.

Snape leaned down so that Harry could feel the warmth of his breath. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Harry was about to ask why Snape was apologising when suddenly, Snape's mouth was on his. He could feel Snape's grip on his arm loosen and felt himself relax into the embrace. Snape tasted vaguely spicy and somehow, it was the most erotic thing that Harry had tasted in a very long time. He could feel a moan escape his mouth as Snape's arms encircled him. He could feel Snape's cock hardening against him, and for a moment, Harry managed to forget that he was on another planet. He managed to forget the incredible danger they were in and the fact that there was a huge monster out there to get them. He managed to forget everything but the feeling of Snape on his lips and the smell of the man.

And then, almost as quickly as it began, Snape pulled away from the kiss. There was a burning look in his eyes, but his voice was almost harsh as he hissed, "Run! Run now!"

Harry found himself being pulled along by Snape as the Doctor ran ahead. Behind them, Harry could hear the angry cries of the Monster as it was deprived of its prey.

-***-

Harry could see the TARDIS, when he heard pounding footsteps behind them. He twisted his head around and could see the others from the cave running after them, curiously blank expressions on their faces.

"Stupefy!" Snape shouted over his shoulder, but the spell seemed to just bounce harmlessly off them.

The Doctor reached the TARDIS. Harry threw him the keys and the Doctor fumbled with them. He yanked the door open and rushed inside. Snape was about to follow when Harry grabbed him by the arm. "We can't just leave them," he said. "There must be some way we can help them. There must!"

The Doctor's face appeared at the door of the TARDIS. "Sometimes we can't help everybody," he said harshly. "They're not ... they're not human any more. They're as good as dead. Leave them."

Harry knew that the Doctor was talking sense. As the others neared, he could see the expressions on their faces, the wide grimaces on their faces, the hunger shining out of their eyes. He took a step towards the TARDIS. And then another step.

Behind him, Snape pushed him and then, in another second, they were both inside the TARDIS and Snape was shutting the door behind him. Outside, the voices of the others were terrifying howls in the wind as they slammed themselves up against the outside of the TARDIS.

"We're leaving," the Doctor announced, his eyes gleaming, as he pushed buttons and pulled levers on the TARDIS consol.

The humming, trembling of the air began as Harry fought to catch his breath. He tried to look at Snape, but the other man looked away.

-***-

"You're home now," the Doctor said quietly.

Harry looked up at the Doctor and was relieved to see a tiny bit of the old sparkle back in the Doctor's eyes. "Good," he said bluntly.

The Doctor quirked a brief smile. "That's life on the TARDIS for you, always exciting. You could come with me, both of you." There was a hint of a smile on his face.

"I think I'll give it a miss," Harry said. He was positive that life on the TARDIS was exciting, but he'd had enough of excitement to last a lifetime. Even now, he felt adrenalin pumping thorough his system, making the world seem brighter and more dangerous.

Snape nodded. "I have to concur."

The Doctor tilted his head to look at Snape. "That was quite the ingenious solution back there. It fed off our negative emotions. To create a positive emotion strong enough to break us free... well, it was very well done!" He strode over and held out his hand to Snape, after a pause, shook it.

Harry wasn't sure he really wanted to think about it. After all, Snape had only kissed him so that they could escape. Somehow, the thought was not as reassuring as it should have been.

Squaring his shoulders, Harry walked out of the TARDIS. Snape was right behind him. They both emerged out of the broom closet into the empty corridor, blinking at the bright lights of the Ministry. The distinctive sound of the TARDIS starting up behind them made them both turn around. Slowly, the TARDIS faded from view.

Harry looked over at Snape who was silent. Harry wasn't sure what to say either. What could you say after an adventure like that?

With a deep breath, Harry turned and began walking away. He would have to come up with some excuse for his supervisor for the disappearance of both the TARDIS and the Doctor, but he didn't really care at the moment. He also wanted to put as much distance as he could between himself and Snape.

Behind him, Harry could hear Snape walking off in the opposite direction.

-***-

Harry was rather surprised when he didn't have nightmares of their time on that world. Instead, he found himself preoccupied with images of the kiss. The memory had grown so much in his mind that sometimes, Harry found himself labelling it as The Kiss instead, an event of momentous importance instead of something that Harry was sure that Snape preferred not having to do. It was mortifying that Snape could read him so easily. Snape could have chosen any number of means to ensure a positive output of emotion instead of kissing him. For one thing, Snape could have said flattering things to Harry or the Doctor.

Harry found himself laughing helplessly at that image. He had to admit that they probably wouldn't have been able to escape had Snape chosen that route.

Still, Harry wasn't sure why Snape had decided to kiss him. He felt himself harden slightly as he thought of the look in Snape's eyes as he hovered over him, the feeling of Snape's cock as it pressed against Harry.

Harry had to admit that it was pretty obvious that Snape was gay. No straight man would have reacted that way. But still, it didn't mean that Snape wanted any sort of repetition of the events that occurred on that planet. Harry was fairly sure that Snape either still despised him or had grown ambivalent to him and he wasn't sure which was worse.

Snape probably didn't want to kiss him. He probably didn't want Harry kneeling down in front of him doing any number of unmentionable things.

Harry suddenly realised that he was hard, very hard. There were only two options, a cold shower or something else. And he definitely didn't want the cold shower.

With a determined expression, Harry walked over to his bookshelf and pulled out a hardcover book. It was last year's Ministry Yearbook. Harry was positive there was at least one photo of Snape in there, quite possibly sneering.

Harry flipped through it, ignoring the shocked expressions of the photographs. It was about halfway through the book that he came across Snape's photo. While almost everybody else was posed awkwardly with friends, smiling at the camera, Snape simply stood there with his customary dour look on his face. Harry could feel his heart racing as he remembered the burning look in Snape's eyes.

Harry held his breath. There was a problem with wizarding photos when it came to wanking off in front of them. They could see you and some of them tended to laugh. As he unzipped his pants, the little photograph of Snape looked at him open-mouthed in astonishment.

"Oh sod off," Harry said, feeling rather embarrassed.

-***-

Over the next few days, Harry felt oddly discontented at work. It was the same feeling he'd had after he defeated Voldemort. He had just had an adventure, an adventure of a lifetime, and now he was expected to go about his normal everyday life as if nothing had happened. He spent much of his time deliberately avoiding Snape. Harry wasn't sure he could talk to the other man without thinking of what happened.

West was becoming increasingly irritated with Harry and as such, Harry found himself spending a lot of his time in his office doing paperwork. It was much easier than getting in West's way or to endure tart remarks about having lost a crucial piece of evidence as well as a suspect. It was also quite conducive to avoiding Snape.

Harry sighed, twirled a pencil in his fingers and then returned to his paperwork. West had wanted forms regarding the Doctor signed in triplicate. With a yawn, Harry scribbled his signature on yet another form.

A cough from the doorway made him look up.

Severus Snape was standing there. To Harry it looked as if Snape was debating internally about something.

"Can I help you?" Harry asked politely. He had already decided that it was best to pretend that they had never met the Doctor. Life was much simpler before they went on that insane adventure. A part of him wished he had said yes to the Doctor's offer, but it was only a small part. He wasn't sure he wanted to face death every day again and that was what the Doctor seemed to do.

Snape stepped into his office and closed the door behind him. "I never apologised for my actions while we were on that planet," he said curtly. "I didn't mean to... take advantage of you before. For that, I am sorry."

Harry wasn't sure what to say. He wanted to be glad that Snape seemed to have put the kiss behind him and moved on, but somehow he wasn't. He could feel his cheeks redden slightly when he remembered just exactly what he had done while looking at one of Snape's photographs just two days earlier. "It's fine," he managed to get out. "We're safe now. I understand why you had to do what you did."

Snape nodded. "It was necessary," he said.

Harry was beginning to feel rather uncomfortable. Snape just stood there silently, almost as if he wanted to say something else, but wasn't sure how to. As he watched, Snape ran a hand through his hair and Harry shivered. He still remembered how Snape's hand had gripped him tightly when they were in the cave, the taste of Snape's mouth and the way Snape had pressed himself up against Harry's body. With a mental groan, Harry suddenly realised that he was hardening slightly. "Well," he said awkwardly, "I'm about to go for lunch." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "Would you like to join me?"

Snape stared at him. "Thank you, that would be acceptable," he said.

Harry opened and reached into his desk drawer and found his wallet. As he stood up, he was glad that today was one of the rare occasions he had chosen to wear robes. "I hope it wasn't too unpleasant," Harry commented, casually.

Snape raised an eyebrow at him.

"On the planet," Harry clarified, as they walked out of the door together. "The... kiss." Harry could almost feel Snape freeze beside him.

"No, it wasn't unpleasant," Snape said quietly. There was a certain tone in his voice that Harry couldn't quite identify.

"I'm glad," Harry said feeling rather uncomfortable, even beneath his voluminous robes. He had a feeling that this conversation was important, that there was something riding on it, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Snape looked down at him and there was an almost-smile on his face. "So shall we go to lunch? Reminisce about that time we were on this spaceship called the TARDIS."

Harry laughed in surprise. He was beginning to really like Snape's sense of humour. He nodded and they walked off together.


End file.
